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Shambhala Life Skills

Public and private schools taught you how to become a productive member of society. These schools pass down to you your cultural inheritance. They teach you about the everyday world. They teach you how to fit in and how to be loyal to your family, your community, your State and your Country.

At the same time, there is another world, the world of relationships with your Self and others. Public and private schools teach you nothing about these intra- and inter- personal worlds. Shambhala Life-Skills teach you how to know your Self. Shambhala Life-Skills teach you how to create important relationships with others without abandoning your own personal priorities. Shambhala Life-Skills teach you to clarify the purpose and direction of your unique life. Shambhala Life-Skills teach you to hear your own rhythms and to loyally march to the music deep within your own heart. Shambhala Life-Skills teach you these things so that you can be equally knowledgeable about the many worlds in which we all live.

The Shambhala Pathway has four essential components. The first component, and most basic, is the Shambhala Life-Skills. There are twelve of these Life-Skills. Just as kicks, blocks and punches create the fundamental building blocks of the martial arts, these twelve Shambhala Life-Skills lay a critical foundation for a life fully lived.

SHAMBHALA BLACK BELTS are proficient in the use of the following LIFE-SKILLS:

  • Self-Study
  • Self-Communication
  • Self-Responsibility
  • Self-Care
  • Self-Balancing
  • Self-Validation
  • Self-Authorization
  • Self-Trust
  • Self-Loyalty
  • Self-Directioning
  • Self-Release
  • Self-Celebration